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Apple Unveils $349 HomePod Smart Speaker to be Available in December
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I don't know about anyone else but I actually got a Google home a few months ago and I can say that it sounds amazing and cost half the price. Also Google assistant blows siri away. So did apple think your average Joe was going to think it's worth hundreds more for "better speakers"?
I wonder if Airplay 2 will be compatible with the current Airplay. I have 6 Airplay stations setup now. Also, why do you suppose this speaker won't be available until the end of the year? That's a long way away.
The name HomePod is hardly original but the price really is. The Sonos Play 1 is $199 and no slouch. The Echo is $179. I could see $250, even $279 maybe. $349 makes no sense as a whole home speaker. If you can afford to outfit your home with these you can afford to outfit your home with a much slicker whole home A/V system.
This may have worked if there was a product tier like the Echo. As-is it's looks like the 2017 iPod HiFi. Disappointing. I would have loved to have seen (and bought) a kit that included one master speaker, maybe a Jr. and then 4 to 6 Dot-like satellites for $499. I think Apple could have sold that.
The HomePod may have sold well pre-Echo, but I can't see people paying $349 when they can buy into the Alexa system for a lot less and pretty much same functionality sans maybe security and, of course, HomeKit support.
This may have worked if there was a product tier like the Echo. As-is it's looks like the 2017 iPod HiFi. Disappointing. I would have loved to have seen (and bought) a kit that included one master speaker, maybe a Jr. and then 4 to 6 Dot-like satellites for $499. I think Apple could have sold that.
The HomePod may have sold well pre-Echo, but I can't see people paying $349 when they can buy into the Alexa system for a lot less and pretty much same functionality sans maybe security and, of course, HomeKit support.
The deal is the many consumers don't care. My wife is manager st Best Buy and their best selling speakers are soundbars. They stand in front of the sound bars and it sounds great. Of course it does. It's more than the crappy little built in tv speaker they'd been listening to. It's easy to slap in front of the tv or even on the wall. Required just one cable. SOLD!!!!
We have a 7.1 klispche reference set up and even SHE was trying to sell me on a sound bar. I'd maybe have considered that before wiring everything through the walls properly just for convenience alone. But nah. It's not going to give the same experience as a true 5.1/7.1 setup would. Im sure it sounds great for what it is though.
Quick everyone tweet Amazon to take advantage of MusicKit and add Apple music functionality to the Echo so we can all save $220
Why, if the echo sounds like S**T, why buy it? I guess the majority of people don't care about sound quality.
I am in fact looking forward to hearing the HomePod, if it truly sounds good, I could find a "home" for it.
$350 will barely get you a decent set of proper speakers much less an quasi-intelligent one. Assuming they are hitting the Sonos market buyers and not the cheap, $100 Bluetooth crowd.
I have a Sonos Play 1 in my kitchen and will upgrade in a heartbeat if voice commands work as advertised; it's a massive pain in the arse to have to fiddle with the Sonos app to play music (interface sucks, etc.) when you are cooking...
I have a Sonos Play 1 in my kitchen and will upgrade in a heartbeat if voice commands work as advertised; it's a massive pain in the arse to have to fiddle with the Sonos app to play music (interface sucks, etc.) when you are cooking...
I've never heard anything for $200 producing sound that I would call in any way decent. For headphones, yes. For speakers, absolutely f***ing no. Get your ears examined.
My anectodal evidence is anecdotal but I've still only seen three AirPods my entire life. I don't know if they just aren't making that many, people aren't using them much in public, or what. For every AirPod I see I easily see a few thousand iPhones though lol.
Anyway just an observation.
I have a pair of AirPods and love them. But no one here can make a correlation between the product and availability. We don't know actual demand (placed orders). We don't Apple's production capability including parts supply constraints, or if Apple is simply limited production for unspecified reasons. Recall initial release was delayed because of production issues.
Anyone who thinks Amazon Echo is even close to being over priced is frankly delusional. They'd have to charge next to nothing for those prices to look unreasonable. They practically give the Echo Dot away, and the full Echo really isn't expensive for what you're getting.
Yeah, so I can get an Echo Dot for $50 and use it with whatever speakers I want (and already have), and add Echo-only Amazon Music Unlimited for $3.99... or this thing. Disappointing.
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Let me borrow that crystal ball of yours that shows the comparisons between the two speakers sound quality wise
. My Old roommate owned an Echo for our last apartment, and the sound quality was actually solid for what you're paying for.
This may very well sound better then the Google Home, but you're right when you say Google's assistant blows Siri away. Plus this thing is $350 and limits you to only use Apple Music. Sonos, Bose, etc. all provide the option of using many different music services.
Decide you don't like Apple Music? You now have a $350 brick.
I still don't understand why they couldn't give it an Ethernet jack and make it also be an AirPort replacement.
Or why they don't do that with the AppleTV.
Or why they don't do that with the AppleTV.
Let me borrow that crystal ball of yours that shows the comparisons between the two speakers sound quality wise
Your perspective on sound quality may be different than mine.
We'll see how the homepod sounds come December.
It would be more like a Sonos and an Echo Dot. Soon you will be able to control your Sonos equipment with the Echo. This will just have it all in one if the audio quality is there.